E-Control reports: Dramatic decline in arbitration cases 2024!

E-Control reports: Dramatic decline in arbitration cases 2024!

Österreich, Österreich - In 2024, the E-Control, the regulatory authority for the electricity and gas market in Austria, recorded a significant decline in arbitration cases. A total of only 1,394 arbitration applications were processed, which corresponds to a decline of 44% compared to 2023. Board of Directors Wolfgang Urbantschitsch emphasizes that advice for consumers is still of great importance. Despite the decline, the number of arbitration applications is quadrupled compared to 2020, which indicates continuing uncertainties in the energy sector. In 2024, the E-Control also edited 20,759 telephone and written inquiries.

The dramatic reduction in the arbitration applications is remarkable, since in 2023 42,700 inquiries were registered, which was more than twice as many. This attributes the e-control to an overload from the high entrance area of the previous year. The majority of the inquiries can be located in the electricity area, since there are more electricity points in Austria than gas connections. The topics of the entries often include unclear billing, consumption quantities and energy prices. In particular, high subsequent claims are often accompanied by payment difficulties.

Important knowledge from the E-Control report

The annual dispute arithmetic report offers a comprehensive overview of the activity of the arbitration and advice center. Around three quarters of the entries affect the electricity area. A special challenge is the increasingly complex inquiries that often have missing data from smart meters. Complaints about network connections of renewable generation plants and feed -in services also increase.

E-Control not only ensures fair competition in the energy market, but also supports consumers in disputes with energy providers. Of the 1,394 arbitration applications in 2024, 45% were imparted, with 68% of the conveyed cases led to positive results. The average procedure is 64 days. Nevertheless, 27% of the applications were withdrawn, 6% were not responsible and 22% rejected. The most common reason for rejection was that the treatment of dispute would affect the operation of the arbitration board.

contextualization of energy market development

Development in the energy market is also influenced by the economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU27 fell by 6.4%, which also affected energy consumption. Primary energy consumption fell by about 7.5% in the EU27 2020 compared to the previous year, while electricity demand decreased by around 4%.

With these developments, a change in energy generation can be observed. In 2020, renewable energies contributed to the majority of the EU electricity mix of these sources. The proportion of renewable energies rose to around 38%, which exceeded fossil fuels in electricity generation. Wind power developed into the most important source of energy after nuclear energy, while converting electricity was significantly decreased.